When you think of archives, you may picture dusty boxes or dark closets filled with preserved documents or other media. You maybe don’t think of 90 miles of shelves in climate controlled and “radiation hardened” vaults!
However, that is exactly where the Library of Congress is storing its Audio/Visual collection in Culpeper, Virginia. The storage facility is actually a former nuclear bunker that was built during the Cold War to protect huge amounts of money as well as up to 500 Federal employees. This article from the blog Architect of the Capital details the original goal of the bunker structure, pictures and illustrations of the site, and also the end goal of the Library of Congress to eventually digitize their film and video collection.
Watch this video from the Library of Congress that describes the Packard Campus and the process that the digital files go through to record and preserve them at the facility (it includes robotics!):
Ready to think outside the box about a way to help both your library and the community? If you are a public or academic library, this idea could be for you!
The U.S. State Department is looking to add to their growing network of passport acceptance facilities. A passport acceptance facility is just like it sounds – “a public sector office that is designated to accept passport applications.” The facility then sends the applications to the State Department, who handle the processing and issuing of the passports.
There are definitely benefits to becoming one of these acceptance facilities. Most libraries operate on a strict budget, and by becoming a passport acceptance facility, your library would get to keep the $25 Execution Fee that comes with each passport. That would add up quickly. Plus, you would get an increase of people coming to your library! And while they are there to get their passport, why not use a computer or check out a book? There’s also the consideration that many libraries have more inclusive hours of operation than the traditional passport acceptance facility, the post office. People may be more able to process their paperwork by visiting the library instead.
Marcel Proust was quoted as saying, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Travel can be a wonderful experiential learning tool. However, not everyone is able to invest the time and money necessary to travel. Edudemic posted a list of ten virtual resources to (re) discover the American West. Travel online along rivers, across deserts and over mountains-west.
Tip: This is a wonderful research tool for students and future explorers; Classify the biology of indigenous plants or animals living in national parks and monuments; Study the social divergence of California cultures; Learn the history of the “American West”; and more.
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